Terraced landscapes of the Shouf Biosphere Reserve (Lebanon): analysis of geomorphological variables

Abstract

This work aims to characterize the agricultural heritage system surrounding the Shouf Biosphere Reserve (SBR) in Lebanon, through a landscape analysis based on assessing current ecosystems. In the past, the SBR landscape was intensively terraced and cultivated to produce many different crops. Today, although the terraced surface has been reduced, it is still a characteristic of the area, encouraging the quality of the landscape and increasing local biodiversity. During and after the war (the 1950s), the migration of population caused the abandonment of many cultivated terraces with the loss of a wide range of ecosystem services. This trend should be reversed to ensure these ecosystem services. The diversity of the land uses, and the richness of fauna and flora species raise the importance of the role of the SBR in maintaining the complex ecosystem and increasing its resilience capacity. The objectives of preserving biocultural diversity and traditional local agricultural practices can be achieved through sustainable development policies for the dynamic conservation of landscapes. In this study, it was shown that distance from roads to terraced areas is a fundamental factor in the preservation and maintenance of terraces. As well as the aspect and the slope influence the positioning of the terraces and therefore the species cultivated on them.